The recent situations in the royal family of the United Kingdom (etc) areperhaps related to the anomalous situation created by the Queen's longevity.

It's a settled principle that only one person in each generation of the RF(the one who is or will be Sovereign) gets to have royally titled grandchildren.

The nebulous concept of "senior members of the Royal Family" generallyresolves to the Sovereign,the Consort,and their children.

It has been the norm,both for a century after the death of Queen Victoriaand from 1817 into the 1880s before that,and almost always before the 1810s,that the grandchildren of the Sovereign relevant to the succession are...children.

The Duke of York and Duke of Sussex were each born "spares" no longerrealistic prospects for the throne once their elder brothers producedheirs.George V and George VI both succeeded because their elder brothersdid NOT produce heirs and in the former case died young.PrincessMargaret was similarly off the realistic-prospect list by the timeher sister acceded.

"Spares" once superseded have been left to their own devices and not alwaysmade wise choices.The Duke of Sussex is the first-ever younger son of aPrince of Wales to reach adulthood as such,and his son the first-ever childborn to a younger son of a serving Prince of Wales.People in the Duke'sgenealogical position have in the past been moved out of it well beforereaching his age by deaths that now have not happened.

How will the future adapt to multiple generations of adult descendantsin the direct line whose status as presumptively "senior" is affectedby their displacement as "spares" before it would normally start?Will longer spaces between generations foreclose the effects ofincreased longevity?

Prince George is already the oldest-ever son,and Princess Charlottethe oldest-ever daughter,of a son of a Prince of Wales.

-=-=-The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

Post by Louis EpsteinThe recent situations in the royal family of the United Kingdom (etc) areperhaps related to the anomalous situation created by the Queen's longevity.It's a settled principle that only one person in each generation of the RF(the one who is or will be Sovereign) gets to have royally titled grandchildren.The nebulous concept of "senior members of the Royal Family" generallyresolves to the Sovereign,the Consort,and their children.It has been the norm,both for a century after the death of Queen Victoriaand from 1817 into the 1880s before that,and almost always before the 1810s,that the grandchildren of the Sovereign relevant to the succession are...children.The Duke of York and Duke of Sussex were each born "spares" no longerrealistic prospects for the throne once their elder brothers producedheirs.George V and George VI both succeeded because their elder brothersdid NOT produce heirs and in the former case died young.PrincessMargaret was similarly off the realistic-prospect list by the timeher sister acceded."Spares" once superseded have been left to their own devices and not alwaysmade wise choices.The Duke of Sussex is the first-ever younger son of aPrince of Wales to reach adulthood as such,and his son the first-ever childborn to a younger son of a serving Prince of Wales.People in the Duke'sgenealogical position have in the past been moved out of it well beforereaching his age by deaths that now have not happened.

(The Duke of Sussex has now surpassed George V's age at the death ofVictoria,so the two sons of the current Prince of Wales are now thetwo oldest-ever sons of any serving Prince of Wales).

Post by Louis EpsteinHow will the future adapt to multiple generations of adult descendantsin the direct line whose status as presumptively "senior" is affectedby their displacement as "spares" before it would normally start?Will longer spaces between generations foreclose the effects ofincreased longevity?Prince George is already the oldest-ever son,and Princess Charlottethe oldest-ever daughter,of a son of a Prince of Wales.-=-=-The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.